Moving Tips: Getting Ready for the New Owners

About Me

My first house needed a lot of work before I could move in. Nothing was structurally wrong with the place. What was wrong is that I had to clean everything inside and out before moving my stuff in. Ever since, I've made it a point to make sure every home I leave is ready for the next guy to move in.
After I get the last of my stuff out of the old place, I go into cleaning mode. That includes mopping the floors, washing the windows, and hiring a carpet cleaning service to steam clean all the rugs. Outside, I'll have one of the local lawn care services mowing the lawn and trimming the shrubs.
Try my tips for getting the place ready for the next guy. Pay it forward, and watch karma come around. The job will be done in no time and you can start working on getting the new place in order.

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How To Keep Your Home Free From Pet Odors

If you're an animal lover, you're probably willing to put up with a few accidents and odors as a tradeoff for having pets in your home. Accidents are bound to happen occasionally, especially if you have puppies or when an older pet is sick. Therefore, you should be prepared to deal with them. After all, you don't want your house to smell like a kennel. By staying on top of pet odors, you can have your furry friends and a house that smells good too. Here's what you can do.

Clean Accidents Quickly

You need to act fast if your pets make a mess on carpeting or a porous floor. If you don't, the fluids will slowly seep into your floor and dry. The odors will be much more difficult to remove once that happens. If your pets are prone to having accidents, especially during the puppy phase, consider keeping them confined to a room with flooring that is easy to wipe clean, such as vinyl. Only let them onto carpet and hardwood when you are there to supervise.

When you see a puddle, soak it up right away using folded towels, newspapers, or paper towels. Change the towels often, so they have a lot of soaking power. Stand on the stain so the liquids are forced into the towel. This will eliminate most of the fluid and leave your carpet in a damp state. After that, rinse the spot with cold water and blot dry again.

Use Enzyme-Based Cleaners

You have two goals when cleaning pet odors. One is to get rid of the bad smell, and the other is to get rid of the residue, so it doesn't entice your pet to make a mess in the same spot. That's why enzyme-based cleaners are the best for dealing with pet odors. They break apart urine, so the odor is dissolved. You don't want to use a regular carpet cleaner that masks the odor. Your pet will still be able to smell the urine on the carpet, and that's like an invitation to use the same spot in the future. Getting old pet stains out of the carpet is important for this reason. However, if you don't see your pet make a mess, you won't have any idea it's there.

Investing in an inexpensive black light is a good way to deal with this problem. Old urine stains glow under a black light, so you know exactly where the odors in your home come from. Enzyme cleaners remove old odors too, as long as they are not buried under commercial cleaners that may interfere. You can buy enzyme-based cleaners at a pet store.

Clean Carpet Frequently

Your pets have other odors they leave behind too. Your home may pick up a wet-dog smell or a strong pet body odor. The way to combat this is to keep your home and pets as clean as possible. Carpeting is not the best type of flooring to have when you have pets too, but you can make it work if you have your carpets professionally by experts like Chem Dry Springfield cleaned on a regular basis. Let the cleaner know you have pets, so the best cleaners and method of cleaning can be used.

Fortunately, if you train your pets well, as they get older, you shouldn't have to deal with pet stains very often. In fact, if your older dog begins making messes on the floor, or develops a bad odor, you should talk to your vet, as it could be a sign of an illness or infection.